Hearts for Hagrid
by APpLeBun
Summary: A Valentine's Day oneshot. Hagrid reflects on a past Valentine's Day while on a stroll around the edge of the lake. First fic so read, review, and be kind!


**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of these characters, except for Emily. Hogwarts and Hagrid belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Happy Valentine's Day!! 33

**Hearts for Hagrid **

Valentine's Day – a silly holiday, really. Don' get me wrong, I've got no problem with the whole idea o' relationships and whatnot. I jus' think it's a bit of a waste o' time; dashin' around buyin' flowers, candy, an' jewelry, makin' sure you got someone to spend it with, s'all a bit frivolous don' you think? No, I don' ev'n bother meself with such a day. Mind, I hadn' _always _thought so…

Ev'ry year on February the 14th, I take a stroll down ter the edge o' the lake round before sunrise. No one else is even awake, see (Fang likes to have a bit of a lie-in), so's I'm all alone. Peaceful is what it is – I don' mind bein' able to just sit an' think. But on these occasions, I can't help but think o' somethin' – her. I can still see her face in me mind, clear as day. I don' remember much about the way she looked, 'cept that she was the mos' beau'iful girl I'd ever seen. I remember her bein' kinda tall (thought maybe not compared to me), with long hair the color o' wheat. Her name was Emily.

I hadn't been but twelve years o' age, and barely into me 2nd year at Hogwarts. It was around mid-December when I first saw her. How I'd missed her before was a myst'ry to me, but one day I was walkin' to lunch in the Great Hall and there she was, laughin' along with some people who were walkin' with her. As she walked on past me, she turned her head, an' her eyes met mine. She looked at me for a few seconds, an' then, she smiled. At me. Me, an on'y me.

From that moment on, I'd been consumed by the very idea o' her. She was all I could think about, through meals, classes, weekdays and weekends, ev'n my dreams, too. She was there. In my mind, it was jus' the two o' us, together. Not so in real life, though; forev'r surrounded by all o' her friends (she had a lot of them, mind), and I could nev'r seem to work up enough courage to jus' walk up and say hello. Afraid they'd laugh at me mos'ly. 'Fraid they'd laugh and say, "She'd nev'r like someone like you."

But then one day, day before Valentine's Day it happened to be, I decided that enough was enough. My mind was set – I was goin' to talk to her, whether her friends liked me or not. I knew Emily would, knew that _she'd_ nev'r be the one to laugh. So I got up early on Valentine's Day, and went down to the grounds to pick her the mos' perfect bouquet of flowers she'd ever seen. It took ov'r an hour to find 'em all, but I had felt good about my arrangement o' hyacinths, zephyr lilies, an' cinquefoils.

I decided on askin' her to meet me someplace. Leavin' the flowers up in my dormitory, I set off to find Emily. I found her in a corridor on the 3rd floor, an' amazin'ly, _she was alone._ Me heart was racin', but all the same, I walked right on up to her, me mind set and me knees shakin'. "Emily?" I called. "Hey, Emily."

She turned 'round. "Oh, hello, Rubeus." She smiled. I lost meself in that smile, and me confidence grew.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"That's sweet of you," she had said. "You too."

"Thanks. Listen, I was wonderin' if…well, if maybe you'd consider meetin' me later today? Down by the Black Lake, say? 'Round, I dunno…four?" There was one blind second of hesitation, and I thought she'd say no. But then, she nodded.

"Oh, Rubeus, I'd really love that! Of course I will." She smiled again, an' I beamed right back I was so happy.

"Alright then, I'll be sein' you then." She nodded walked off. I couldn' tell ya how happy I was right then. And even though it was on'y about half past one, I dashed back to me dormitory to get ready.

I don' remember how long I waited for her. I got there 'round ten to four, arrived lookin' all smart and handsome like with my bouquet of flowers. Ten minuets passed, then twen'y, thri'y…I began to really worry. I had said four at the Black Lake, hadn' I? Maybe I'd messed up and confused meself. But no, four at the Lake sounded 'bout right. I lost track o' the time, jus' standin' there, waitin'. By now it had already gotten dark. Dinner had prob'ly already started, but I was in no mood to eat. I just stood there, the flowers wiltin' more an' more for ev'ry second I held 'em.

Jus' then, I caught sight o' Emily. She was stridin' down the hill lookin' all pretty and laughin'. So she hadn' forgotten at all, she had meant to come all along. I made to call out to her, but somethin' made me stop. An' that's when I noticed that she was with another man. The two o' them were laughin' 'bout somethin', and I don' think she ev'n noticed me standin' there. "So what about your _date_," I heard the man say. "With the wonderful _Rubeus Hagrid_, huh Em?"

I heard her laugh, on'y it sounded…mean. There was jus' no other word for it. "_What about it_?" They were laughin, and laughin. I watched their figures getting' smaller an' smaller, until they were completely gone.

Me heart sank like a stone down to the very ground under me feet. Silently, I pulled out ev'ry one o' the petals on all those flowers, and threw 'em into the lake. I watched 'em drift to the edges until, like Emily an' the guy she was with, I couldn' see 'em any more.

So ev'ry year on February the 14th, I allow me thoughts to wander to Emily. Jus' on this one day, too, 'cause she don' deserve me attention for longer than that. I sit, an' I think. Sometimes I wish I could find her again, and ask her 'bout it. Ask her why. Why did she have to go and crush all me dreams and hopes like that? Then I realize that I kinda miss her some. It would have been nice to be with her again, her smile and wheat colored hair. But I know bett'r than that…I come to me senses and stride away, 'cause by now, Fangs wants breakfast.


End file.
